What will the Giving Spree look like in 2020, a year when it seems everything is different? This year’s Giving Spree, benefiting 90 nonprofits, is set for November 5 and will offer more ways than ever for donors to show that the spirit of giving is strong in Adams County. Donors may contribute by mail, online, or even participate in a first-ever curbside giving event.

Another first: any Giving Spree gift may be designated as a “forever gift”, to be added to a permanent endowment that will continue to support the specified nonprofit for decades to come.

As in past years, Giving Spree donors may choose to support any of the nonprofits on the list of participants, or give to the “stretch pool” to support all 90 organizations. Participating nonprofits receive a percentage of the stretch pool based on the amount they raise on the day of the Giving Spree.

This year’s added option is a “forever gift”, directing a contribution to a designated endowment held at the Community Foundation.

When you select “forever” your gift is combined with other “forever gifts” earmarked for the nonprofit you select. Together, these gifts are placed in a permanent charitable fund at the Community Foundation called a designated endowment. “Designated” because it benefits one specific nonprofit chosen by you. “Endowment” because it is permanent.

Here’s how that endowment becomes a forever gift for the nonprofit you care about: The assets of that designated endowment are invested and any income goes right back into the fund. This allows the designated endowment to grow over time. Once a year the Community Foundation takes 4.5% of the fund and grants it to the nonprofit you named. The nonprofit doesn’t need to apply for the annual grant, and when they receive the grant their board may decide how they will use the grant money. 

Our designated endowments are managed and invested in a disciplined, thoughtful manner with a goal to returning the original value of your gift and more to your selected nonprofit. The Community Foundation’s long-term investment pool, where we invest designated endowments, currently holds sixteen million dollars. This pool is managed by investment firm Brown Advisory, overseen by the Community Foundation’s volunteer Investment & Finance Committee, and guided by the Community Foundation’s Investment & Spending Policy.

Any investment professional will tell you that past performance is no guarantee of future results. That said, the Community Foundation’s long-term investment pool has an annualized return (as of September 30, 2020) of 9.9%, net of investment fees, since its creation in January 2009.

The forever gift you make at this year’s Giving Spree will help provide a steady stream of reliable income for decades to come. Your forever gift will help your favorite nonprofit through good times and bad. And if the worst should happen—if your nonprofit ceases to exist—the Community Foundation will direct the annual grant generated by the designated endowment to an Adams County nonprofit doing similar work. Your forever gift keeps on giving, no matter what.

This year of 2020 has taught nonprofits some hard lessons. One of those lessons is the value of endowment, and value of asking donors to invest wisely in their future.

At this year’s Giving Spree, we expect to receive over 5,000 individual gifts from 3,000 donors just like you. Please help us endow the future of our Adams County community. Join us at the Giving Spree, and choose a forever gift.